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Bill Clinton: Carrier move 'explains income inequality' in America

Brian Eason
President Bill Clinton campaigns for wife Hillary Clinton at the Hillary for Indiana office in Indianapolis on April 26, 2016.

Stumping for his wife Hillary Clinton at a campaign event on Indianapolis' north side, former President Bill Clinton held up air-conditioning giant Carrier Corp. as a symbol of corporate greed, and sought to outflank Democratic rival Bernie Sanders on the Vermont senator's signature issues: income inequality and college affordability.

Roughly 500 supporters — though many ducked out early due to the sweltering heat inside the cramped campaign headquarters — came out to hear Clinton speak Tuesday morning, while his wife, the former secretary of state, toured manufacturing plants in northern Indiana.

In a 40-minute speech steeped in policy specifics, Clinton described many of Sanders' proposals as unrealistic, while holding up his wife as someone with experience who could work with Republicans to get things done in a bitterly divided Washington.

He also described Indiana as a "poster child for all of the promise of America. And yet," he added, "it's not immune from the problems of America."

Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, arrives with an increasingly clear path to victory for the Democratic nomination, enjoying a wide delegate lead against Sanders. But recent polls indicate the Democratic race is tight in Indiana with Clinton’s lead as narrow as three points. And the state's large manufacturing presence could expose what some feel is a vulnerability for Clinton — how she navigates her and her husband's long and complicated history on free trade agreements that some union officials argue forced plant closures such as Carrier in Indianapolis.

In Tuesday's remarks, Bill Clinton didn't mention trade but attacked Carrier head-on early in his speech.

Carrier union backs Bernie Sanders, spurning Donald Trump

"Carrier explains a lot of the inequality that's happening today," Clinton said, saying that corporate greed, not business considerations, led the company to announce its plans to shed 1,400 Indianapolis jobs and relocate its manufacturing operation to Mexico.

"Why would anybody leave the No. 1 manufacturing state in America at a time" when it is posting close to $3 billion in profits? Clinton asked. The problem, he said, is too many corporations, like Carrier, are motivated by giving money back to shareholders and executives, and not to workers.

To address this, Clinton said his wife's economic plan would offer tax credits for companies that "fairly share profits with employees."

But even as the former president stressed the need for "tomorrow manufacturing," Sanders secured a second union endorsement in the state. United Steelworkers Local 1999, which represents Carrier's workers endorsed Sanders earlier this month, and on Tuesday, the Local 2003 branch in Northwest Indiana followed suit.

"Bernie Sanders has proven over and over to be a true friend of the American labor movement,” said Carlos Luna, the union’s president. “He has demonstrated without a doubt that he is ready to fight for the hard working families of the United States.”

Clinton also drew a contrast with Sanders on education. Sanders' promise of free public college for all, he said, was unrealistic, in large part because it would require funding from dozens of Republican-controlled state governments, including Indiana's. Hillary Clinton's plan, he said, would "give people tuition if they need it based on income," and called for an increase in income-based Pell Grants.

To address student debt, he said, his wife proposes a restructuring of student loans that would more closely mimic home mortgages, with longer terms and lower interest rates. Her plan would also prohibit former students from having to pay more than 10 percent of their after-tax income in any given year. That, he said, would give people more financial flexibility to borrow for other things, such as starting a small business.

Sanders makes his first campaign visit to Indiana on Wednesday, with public events planned at Purdue University and Indiana University-Bloomington.

Many of the those who attended the speech said Hillary Clinton's breadth of experience was a key reason for their support.

Suade Hart, a 22-year-old Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis student, said income inequality was the biggest issue for him, but he favors Clinton over Sanders.

"He sells it," Hart said. "That doesn't mean he's actually good at it."

Another IUPUI student, Paul Seymour, 21, said he was drawn to Clinton because of her diplomacy — a topic that Bill Clinton returned to often in his speech.

"It is crazy for us to declare basically an assault on the moderate, freedom loving, terror hating Muslims," former President Clinton said, in an apparent swipe at GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Clinton said Muslims play a key role in the fight against ISIS and Islamic radicalization, and he said it was imperative that the next president be knowledgeable about foreign policy on day one.

For 93-year-old Nell Warda, the best thing about Hillary Clinton is her intellect. And, she said, until now she "never thought" she'd see a female president in her lifetime.

"And I'm so glad," Warda said. "So often it's always been male, male, male, and they're the only ones (that matter) — and it's not true."

Primary blog: Indiana 'not immune' to America's problems, Bill Clinton says

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IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider contributed to this report. Call IndyStar reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.